Federal government invests $7.5 million for automobility accelerator in Windsor-Essex

The federal government is investing $7.5 million to turn the Windsor-Essex region of Ontario into Canada’s first “automobility accelerator”.

In a May 19 news release, the government said the non-repayable funding from FedDev Ontario will go to Invest WindsorEssex (IWE) to support the development of secure, zero-emissions vehicles technologies.

“With this investment, IWE will offer a full spectrum of first-in-Canada training and other programming to support the upskilling of 1,350 automobility entrepreneurs and scaling firms,” the government said. “Tailored to the needs of start-ups and scale-ups in the automobility ecosystem, with a focus on electric vehicles (EV), connected and autonomous vehicles (CAV), and cyber security firms, this support will help entrepreneurs to accelerate the commercialization of their technologies while positioning the region as a hub for automobility innovation and investment.”

With the federal contribution, plus $12.3 million in private sector and matching funding, IWE will offer training and other programming to support the upskilling of 1,350 automobility entrepreneurs and scaling firms, and also attract an estimated $40 million in foreign direct investment.

According to the government, the investment builds on an initial $5-million FedDev Ontario investment, announced in September 2019 to help IWE establish and catalyze the growth of a next-generation automobility cluster, attract investment to the region and create jobs of the future. That project initiated over 30 partnerships and projects to date, resulting in more than 300 new jobs created and nearly $50 million in funds leveraged for the region.